The Encounter
by flying penguinn
Summary: It was just another normal afternoon when Sasuke was out practicing by himself when a suspicious man approached him. Who was this man and how did he know so much about Sasuke? Time-travel fic


So! I havn't been writing for so long! But I just saw this prompt a while ago and it was absolutely adorable so I just had to write about it. I'm going to say sorry in advanced for all the grammar mistakes, English isn't my first language. So if you found any please tell me and I'll fix it right away! Other than that...Enjoy!

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Sasuke grabbed his pouch and stuffed it with shurikens, trying to keep himself busy and not think too much about how this had become his daily routine. He had get his hope up first thing in the morning, praying that maybe today, Itachi will have time to train with him, only for it to turn out to be the biggest disappointment for, yet, another day of his life. He thought he had gotten use to it, but Sasuke just couldn't help but feel more and more distant from his brother who used to be so close to him. He had wish for a thousand times that somehow, things would just go back to how it used to be. Just Itachi and him training all afternoon, doing small missions together, practice new Justus. Hell, Sasuke wouldn't even mind if he had to try winning his father's attention everyday. But those are impossible now that his brother was barely home, and he was sure that his father didn't even know he existed. That's why it always ended up with him training by himself in the afternoon, and today was no exception.

The house was pretty much empty when he got out of it, being the last one to leave the house everyday. The sun was still high up by then, and so Sasuke knew he got another two or so hours to train. Those hours might seemed long to a seven years old, but Sasuke always felt like he needed more time. If he wanted to graduated from the academy as early as his brother had, he needed to train even harder. He knew it would be hard training without Itachi, he was always the one that help him spot his mistake and teach him new techniques. But Itachi just went on another mission he couldn't refuse if he wanted to, so Sasuke just had to make do with whatever he had. After all, it was only until Itachi get back, and Sasuke wanted to surprise Itachi with how much he improved training by himself. He might not be able to catch up to Itachi right now, but he know he will soon be able to. When that day come, he hoped they would be able to spend time together, and his father would be so proud of him, things would be even better than right now. For now, all he could handle was some shurikens, but soon, he would be allow to use a bigger variant of weapons, just like Itachi could.

Sasuke knew a secret place away from all the noises where Itachi and him would go to train. It was a small clearing close to the village with tall trees and thick branches of green covering overhead. This used to be Itachi's own training place, until Sasuke was old enough to use basic weapons. Itachi would teach him step by step about all the things he needed to know, from taijutsu to ninjutsu. All the marks of kunais and shurikens from all his brother's training were still imprinted on the surrounding trees like exhibits in a museum. Some were deeper than other, evidence that it was hit more than once at the exact same spot. With his tiny fingers, Sasuke traced the deepest imprint he could find and couldn't help but felt amazed at how Itachi could inspire and encourage him so much even when he was not here with him. Sasuke still remembered that one time when Itachi showed him what it would be like when he mastered the shurikens. He had witnessed all ten of those shurikens traveled straight to their targets all around Itachi as he was still in a somersault in midair, like someone was precisely controlling each of them. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and he had hope that he'll be able to see it again, maybe someday he would be able to do it himself, but until then, he was going to practice until his hands bleed with the small bullseye Itachi had draw for him in red on the body of the tree. This was all Itachi allowed Sasuke to do for self practice, he was scared that Sasuke would injure himself trying on new jutsu without him. But it turned out it was all Sasuke really needed. With that and all the tips Itachi had give him, Sasuke knew it was only the matter of time before he mastered it. With a shuriken in hand, Sasuke stood in front of the bullseye. Elbow up, legs wide, eyes straight, aim, and throw!

The shuriken leave Sasuke's hand spinning, gliding through the air toward the bullseye. Sasuke clicked his tongue as he realized a little too late that it wasn't going to hit the middle. However…

Klang! Shruck!

The bullseye was hit.

There was a short moment where Sasuke just stood there, analyzing this confusion, before he immediately goes into a defensive stance, looking around nervously to search for any sudden movement. This was not Sasuke's normal reaction to a shrunken to the bullseye, he should be jumping in excitement when that happen, but right now he could tell something was off. He knew that shuriken shouldn't hit where it did. He had notice the mistake he made while throwing with an angle slightly off to the right, that meant if he had aim straight, the shuriken should be slightly to the right of the bullseye, not right in the middle. But another shuriken had hit it back on the right track, creating that clanking sound and the appearance of the second shuriken ending up on a nearby branch. There was only one question need to ask in this situation, was it a stray shuriken or was it on purpose?

Sasuke immediately tried to answer the question himself by using his chakra to find any presence near him, just to make sure that he was alone. This place was hard to find, however, there was still a small possibility that someone could find it by accident, or on purpose by trailing him. If the latter was true, then he needed to be on his toe at every moment. After all, he knew that Uchiha isn't the most welcomed clan by everyone out there. He also knew that he would be an easy prey if whoever that was was out here to kill. That would be a problem right now considering the fact that no matter how much he concentrated, he couldn't sense anything, except for a small tingling trace of chakra. But they could be passing by or sitting somewhere near, basically, it could belong to literally anyone ten meters radius from him. Just because he could sense them didn't mean they could see him because villagers can't use chakra. With that piece of information, he wasn't sure if that was good news.

"Is anyone there?" He decided to ask aloud, his throat dry. He had really hope that it really was a stray shuriken, but no matter how he looked at it, that second shuriken had precisely knock his back on track. Could a stray shuriken be so accurate? Or was it pure luck?

There was a long silent, where even the noisy leaves stood still, like they were frozen. It was almost creepy how eerily quiet it can be. Sasuke had always hated noisy place like the village market, where everyone talked and no one listen, just noises overlapping more noises. He had take it after Itachi the habit of seeking places where it would be a bit quieter, like in the forest where the only sound was the wind played with the leaves a soft and gentle song. He preferred the forest because it's quiet most of the time, but never before had it been this quiet. Sasuke only realized now how much he hated it, this silent. There was no way anyone could be around this kind of place where sounds seemed to be suck up by a invisible vacuum, but in the end, he was the only one hanging around this place. Thinking that, Sasuke eventually felt stupid for being scared a few minutes ago when maybe no one really was out there. His shoulder dropped as he relaxed his muscles and let out a deep sigh of relieved, only for it to get stuck in his throat when a footstep was heard on the rustling grass. Sasuke jumped, his muscle tensed as he turned his head abruptly toward the sound, his hands grabbed shurikens from his back pouch, watching as a tall and dark figure emerged in the shadow of the trees. It walked toward him in quiet and calm steps into the clearing, then stop just a few meters away. Sasuke immediately started studying the figure to find a weak point he could take advantage off to escape. The figure was a tall man, he was at least twice Sasuke's height so there was no way Sasuke could beat him in taijutsu no matter how much he had improved. Though Sasuke couldn't spot a ninja headband, he wouldn't be able to know if that man really was a just an ordinary villagers. He could be hiding all those weapons under that long, black cloak he wore for all Sasuke knew. Only until Sasuke concentrated his chakra did he noticed that this man had the same chakra Sasuke felt earlier.

Shurikens ready to go, Sasuke aimed for the man's left where his left eyes was covered by his long, black bang of hair, which he decided was the man blind spot. When the man didn't move, Sasuke decided to make the first move of attack, throwing shurikens at the man's shoulder in one swift movement to distract him before jumped back into a safe distance to make the hand seals for the fireball just like how Itachi had taught him.

Snake, ram, monkey-

The man's eyes widened and was forced to move, and he had done just that in speed Sasuke could never dream to achieve. He had dodge all the shurikens with ease and come running toward Sasuke fast while Sasuke was still struggling with the seals. His hand reach out at Sasuke, a piercing sound grew louder like a thousand birds were all chirping at once as flicker of electric surrounded his hand. The man was serious, and he was aiming for him.

Boar, horse, Tigers!

With a quick deep breath, Sasuke blow out a ball of fire at the man just before he could reach him. The fireball traveled heavily with the size that amazed Sasuke, it was bigger than all those Sasuke had done before. The heat alone coming off from it was enough to make Sasuke proud of himself because he knew the man was as good as dead if he got caught in it. The whole clearing seemed to be light up in orange by the fire, until the man striked it out to non existent with a wave of his blue electric charged hand. Sasuke's excitement sinked like a heavy rock. The man was barely tired while Sasuke was heaving heavily from over working himself in the fireball just now. It was his trump card and his months and months of training but it was still not good enough just to be a play thing for the man. All Sasuke could do was stare in horror at the man's cold and emotionless mask as he stared back down at Sasuke. He backed away as the man approached him in that calm, quiet steps again, and couldn't help thinking how can one kept his face so emotionless when he was going to killed a child. He had never felt so helpless before, realizing he never had a chance to escape in the beginning. His throat was dry, but his hands was damp. He was sweating now, either from the heat of the fireball early or from the growing fear inside him, he wasn't sure. One thing he was sure of was that he would never forgive himself if he were to die now when Itachi still out there being the amazing man Sasuke knew. He need to caught up to Itachi, he needed to train, he can't die right now!

Though his mind was screaming, his will gave in just like his legs did, and the only thing he could do was stare dumbfounded at the man and listen to the pitching sound of the man's jutsu before he killed him. Sasuke shut his eyes and hoped it will be over quickly.

"You!" The man snapped. His face remained blank of emotion but Sasuke could tell he was pissed through his voice. The man squatted down, his hand reached out in a flash and grabbed Sasuke's head. Sasuke had learn two things about this in class before, that this was a way to kill by twisting someone's head to broke their neck, and that it was going to be incredibly painful.

"What do you think you're doing you little brat?" He asked in his low voice, his hand shook Sasuke's head back and forth roughly while Sasuke only sat there and braced for the next thing to come. Does he intended to tortured him before he killed?

If the man was angry before, he was beyond pissed right now as Sasuke remained silent to his question. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, ..Sasuke!" The man demanded as he forced Sasuke's eyes open. Sasuke was surprised when the man knew his name when Sasuke don't remember telling him, and he was even more so when the man seemed to be a little hesitate when saying it. Or was it his imagination? "Never practice the fireball here again, got that?" The man's hand went back to his side. His voice was harsh but his hand was gentle when he lifted it from Sasuke's head. Only when the man's cloak was lift from his movement did Sasuke realized the man only got one arm, which didn't look quite possible how he could twist someone's neck if he chose to. The man also got one visible katana, which was weird how he didn't use it to cancel the fireball just now if that was his main weapon. Was it because he didn't think he needed the katana for Sasuke, or was it because of something else?

Sasuke only nodded sheepishly as the man's order, his brain was still too busy figuring out what was going on to change his surprised facial expression. "Weren't- weren't you going to kill me?" Sasuke stuttered out, confused and nervous. He was sure that this man was playing some trick on him.

The man only stared at him, his expression impossible to read, but Sasuke, surprisingly, could see a little bit of pain surfacing before it was gone the next second. His face soften as he swallowed and let out a sigh, "don't be stupid." The man sat down next to him. He doesn't seemed to be pleased when Sasuke flinched at his sudden action.

Now it was Sasuke's turn to swallow nervously, he wasn't sure where this conversation was going. A man he though was going to kill him a few minutes ago was sitting next to him, just talking. If people didn't know what happen before, they would have though the man and Sasuke was just having a father and son talk in the forest. Was he really a bad guy? Or was it self defense? Sasuke was the first one to attack after all. But bad or good, Sasuke needed to know the answer to his curiosity.

"But that shuriken is yours isn't it?" He pointed at the shuriken embarked in the tree near the bullseye.

The man followed his finger. "Ahh," he nodded slightly.

"It wasn't..." Sasuke hesitated. "...on purpose right?" Sasuke stared at the man, bracing for the answer. It was true Sasuke felt strangely comfortable around this man even though they just met, because though he might looked like a bad person, Sasuke could sense his chakra, a calm and soothing feeling of blue.

"It was.."

Sasuke tensed and jumped to his feet in a defensive stand but the man pushed him back down by his shoulder. Sasuke struggled and was going to yelled when the man continued, "I was helping you, ...Sasuke. Your shuriken wasn't going to hit the bullseye." He started out strong but his voice got smaller at every words, looking away so his bang would conceal any feeling displayed on his face.

This man was being more suspicious than a criminal, if he wasn't one already, and the best thing to do right now was run. But when Sasuke noticed the slight hesitation on his name and couldn't help but felt curious. Was this man playing mind trick on him or did he know something Sasuke didn't? Sasuke just needed to know.

"How do you know my name?" Sasuke finally asked, his eyes fixed on the man's face, searching for the tiniest of reaction.

The man stared into space at the question, almost like he was looking for the right word. Sasuke really didn't think that reaction was normal, nor was what he was looking for. "Just a hunch."

If anything, that answer only made Sasuke more curious. This man was definitely hiding something, because there was just no way a person could guess another's name. "Do you know my brother, Itachi?" He asked, thinking that maybe this was one of Itachi's friend. After all, his brother was pretty well known for his skill.

"You could say that."

"Then, then do you know where he is right now?" Sasuke grew excited, Itachi just went on another mission but he won't tell him where he was going, so Sasuke was hoping that this person might now something.

The man, just like before, took time thinking about his answer. This time, a smile spread across his lips as he answered, "don't worry, he's somewhere nice."

Sasuke was a bit surprised the man was capable of smiling, but he really like the man like that better than some emotionless killer before. This had make it much easier to communicate with him. "You're not from here right?

"Hn..."

"Is Itachi at where you're from?"

"Stop asking about Itachi," the man said curtly as his brow furrowed, which effectively silent Sasuke, but only for a while before his attention turned to something else.

"Why do you wear a cloak?"

"…"

"What happen to your other arm?"

"Be quiet, I'm trying to think."

Sasuke was a bit mad when a man knew nothing of him told him to be quiet, but for some reason, doing what he said seemed like the right choice. Though he found him to be a bit of a jerk answering all his question so broadly like that, he had to admit he find this man to be very familiar, though he don't remember where he had seen him. Maybe it was because he weirdly resembled Itachi a lot, maybe it was the dark hair and the pale skin. Whatever it was, Sasuke knew he seen it before, he just did't think he saw him around the village. "Are you a long lost Uchiha?"

The man leered at him. Sasuke had forgotten what the man said a few seconds ago, or maybe he simply didn't care. "You're so annoying," the man sighed as he got up. "Let's go."

"Eh?" Sasuke looked at his back as he continued walking ahead. "Where?"

The man clicked his tongue. "Stop with the questions..," the man repeated, obviously annoyed.

Sasuke pouted and crossed his arms. Just what was this man's problem? Sasuke really don't like being bossed around by anyone, maybe except by his father, or Itachi, or someone he admired, but definitely not some random man he barely knew. "I'm not just going to follow you, stupid."

The man froze on his track as the last word leave his mouth. For a moment, Sasuke thought the man was going lunched at him. Sasuke could tell he was annoyed by that word, his chakra told him so. That word alway seemed to be able to piss off adult for some reason, but what Sasuke didn't get was why adult called kids like him stupid when they were once a kid, too?

"Not any more," the man mumbled to himself.

A glanced at Sasuke's furrowed eyebrows, the man knew Sasuke didn't understand what he was talking about. He can't blame him, Sasuke hadn't been though what the man had been through after all, at least not yet anyway.

"What?"

The man let out a small chuckle at Sasuke's confusion. "You want to improve it right? The fireball."

Sasuke was confused when he asked about the fireball but decided not to ask, "so what?"

"Meet me at the lake if you want to improve it." The man said before he vanished, his blue chakra disappeared, leaving Sasuke alone once more.

Sasuke huffed. That man got the nerves to call Sasuke stupid. He knew the fireball is a technique only Uchiha could do, but the man seemed to be clueless about this piece of information. Just how could you help someone to improve when you don't even know how yourself?

He was definitely skeptical, but at the same time, Sasuke was curious, enough that he considered going to the lake. What harm would it bring? Sasuke knew the lake like the back of his hand, he had went there more than anyone did, so if the man tried anything funny, he was sure he could get away. Sasuke also knew the man was pretty strong, though he had doubt, he had hope that maybe the man figured out how to do the fireball without being an Uchiha. But in the end of his dilemma, the real question was should Sasuke wasted his precious training time to follow a man he just met to show him the impossible?

"Like hell I will, stupid." Sasuke stuck out his tongue at the direction the man was a few seconds ago before picking up his shurikens to continue training once more. This time he was sure that there won't be anymore surprise with the shuriken now that the man was gone. The forest sinked back to its quiet self, it didn't scared Sasuke that much like it did before, but it did bother him a little, just a tiny bit.

—

He didn't realized how fast time fly when he was training, just a few throws of shurikens and the sun had start to set. The sky was turning a bright orange, it looked just like his fireball just now. Sometimes he wondered what would happen if his fireball was as big as the sky. Once he asked Itachi this, and he said that the sky would rain so heavily everything flooded, but it still wouldn't be able to kill that kind of fire. Sasuke remembered he had giggle at that, Itachi always knew what to say to make his day. If only Itachi was here right now, Sasuke would wanted to show him how much he had improve on handling his shurikens and his fireball jutsu.

Sasuke had decided to take the route by the lake home. It wasn't the shorter route, that was a straight way through the market, but Sasuke couldn't stop thinking about what the man offered. Besides, if he wanted to catch up to Itachi, perfecting throwing some shurikens isn't going to cut it, he needed to master a powerful ninjutsu, too. The lake was so close to the Uchiha clan compound, he could call for help before the man could even try anything, so what was the harm?

When his decision was make, he was already at the destination itself, but one important thing was missing, and it made his eyes twitch in annoyance. "That lousy old man is not even here," Sasuke said to himself. Though annoyed, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He was so confident he would be able to catch up to Itachi by himself, but now, he was not so sure anymore. It was all the man's fault. If he hadn't show up, killing Sasuke's confident, then Sasuke would feel fine even if the man didn't show up. But he did, and Sasuke was beyond upset at that fact. That stupid man was probably playing a prank on him, he probably somewhere nearby laughing at how stupid an Uchiha kid can be, trusting some stranger to teach him his own clan technique. Unknowingly, he had once again got his hope up so high that this man would help him train. Sasuke didn't even know where he got that kind of idea. All Sasuke wanted was someone he could be with, just talking was fine, too, they don't have to be some kind of ninja god he could learn jutsus from, why is that so hard?

From the beginning, Sasuke knew he had been lying to himself. He though he missed spending time with Itachi, but the truth was he missed spending time with his entire family. Sasuke had felt distant not only from his brother, but also from his father, and his mother. He knew they were busy with things he wouldn't understand but he craved some some real family interaction, not just a greeting and goodbye everyday. Father would go to the police station every morning, mother wouldn't be at the market, and Itachi, he had mission to taken care off. Every time each of them leave through the door, Sasuke had wanted to beg them to stay with him, because he fear that maybe one day, they leave and won't come back. But his father had scold him for doing that before. He told Sasuke to keep it in the inside and be tough like Itachi is. This Sasuke had try, but when that weird man vanished with a poof, Sasuke realized he wanted to tell him to stay, just for some rare company he hadn't has in months. But he didn't. Maybe that's why he felt upset when the man didn't show up. But he just didn't understand, why must he always be alone? Why must he be the one left behind? Why mus—

"You're late."

His head snapped up to the direction of the voice, his hands automatically wiped at the tiny bit of tears that he had unknowingly spilled. His pervious thought forgotten, Sasuke's eyes widen at the sight of the man he in the black cloak. His mouth stretched upward into a big smile as he ran toward the man. He tried to speak, but his dry throat prevented him from doing so. It took him a few tries to actually be able to find his voice.

"Where were you?" Sasuke's voice came out weak, but he tried to cover it up with a cough.

The man raised an eyebrow in question at his weird behavior but decided not to ask, instead, he held up the plastic bag. "Shopping, got time on my hand."

Sasuke was a bit more excited than he actually shown on the outside, and the man noticed this. He had been fidgety ever seen he arrived, and he had been having trouble with speaking properly.

"So, so, um…, the fireball jutsu," Sasuke stuttered, his eyes glued on the man as if to make sure the man won't leave. "You're going to help me with it right?"

"Ahh," he nodded. "Over there," the man pointed at the small wooden dock.

Sasuke didn't even need to look at where the man was pointing at before running toward it. He had show his father this technique once before on the exact same dock, it just didn't go as plan, but Sasuke was sure it would this time around. He was sure his fireball would be so big it would evaporate the whole lake. The man followed right behind him, he was surprised to say the least about Sasuke's light mood, after being so tense in the forest. He admitted it was his fault that Sasuke was scared of him, but he really didn't mean to attack Sasuke, that would be the last thing he wanted to do. He had feel more guilty than ever when he saw Sasuke flinched when he moved. This wasn't what he came for, this wasn't what he wanted, but he could never tell Sasuke how much it hurt him to see Sasuke so stiff in fear because of him. In the beginning, his plan was just to observe Sasuke from afar, but his habit of helping his daughter's shruriken get back on track kicked in when he saw Sasuke's shuriken going off road. It was stupid of him to use Chidori on Sasuke's fireball, that must had scared him more than anything. So to make it up, the man had decided to help Sasuke with his fireball, which kind of surprise him with its size. But he needed to be extra careful on what he decided to do when he was still here. because things could change rapidly if he weren't careful. This he had considered, and he had hesitated, but here he was with Sasuke. He let out a deep sigh at the though. Guess there would be trouble no matter where he went, but if he didn't use Chidori to cancel the fireball, it could burn a hole in Itachi's favorite spot. Sasuke was definitely going to regret it if that were to happen, he was sure of that.

The man watched as Sasuke started to make the hand seals for the fireball. It was slow, but the man knew that was pretty skill for a seven years old. The man wasn't surprise by that, it was Sasuke after all.

"Katon! Great Fireball Jutsu!" The man heard Sasuke yelled excitedly as he sucked in a deep breath before releasing it into a fireball. This one was relatively smaller than the one before, and the man could tell Sasuke was a little bit disappoint in himself for this.

Sasuke stole a quick glance at the man's face to find emotionless eye looking straight ahead. He was like this in the forest, too. Sasuke just didn't know what he was searching for, but was scared the man was disappointed in his performance. "I—I can do better!" Sasuke said with a forced smile, a hint of desperation in his voice. He didn't remember being like this to anyone but toward his father the last time he failed his expectation for this same jutsu.

"Here I go!" Sasuke announced with the weak voice he had been trying hard to cover up. "Snake, Ram, Mon—"

"Stop," the man lay a hand on Sasuke arm, telling him to pause. Sasuke only looked up at him with hopeful eyes, hope that the man will give him another chance, the chance that his father didn't give. "You're focusing your chakra in the wrong place."

The man's sentence got Sasuke stared at him in puzzled. "But I use my mouth to blow right? so the chakra should be on the side of my mouth."

The man looked down at Sasuke, shaking his head, then a smirk appeared on his face, "stupid."

"What?!" Sasuke shouted, arms flying straight in the air in protest.

The man grabbed both his arms and spin him around, holding him in place but make sure that he wasn't hurting him, "where did air come from just now?"

Sasuke, still dazed from the sudden change of scenery, didn't resist, "huh?"

The man clicked his tongue. Sasuke hated when he did that. "Where is air coming from when you shout?"

Sasuke decided to be stubborn, "my mouth?"

"stupid, it's from your lungs." The man explained, "focus your chakra in it and the tip of your tongue." The man let go of Sasuke's arms, "see how that goes."

His logic seemed about right, but his attitude made Sasuke want to do the opposite just to piss him off. But before anything, the man warned him like he could read his mind, "remember that I could see your chakra, so don't be stupid."

Sasuke's fist clenched when the word 'stupid' was throw at him again. "Stop with the stupid already, geez!" Sasuke turned around and complained.

The man ignored him until he turned around to make the hand seals, "remember, elbow up, legs wide."

Snake, Ram, Monkey—

"eyes straight, aim," Sasuke followed the man's direction like a perfect little robot.

Boar, Horse, Tiger!

"—and go!" Chakra follow to his lungs and to the tip of his tongue.

"Katon! Great Fireball Jutsu," Sasuke took a deep breath and blow out, creating the biggest fireball he had ever did. It floated heavily across the water surface, almost to the other side of the lake. The heat was so overwhelming, it made Sasuke felt like standing right next to the sun. Sasuke's cheeks heat up a blood red color, it was either from excitement or from the heat Sasuke wasn't sure, but it sure felt nice.

Sasuke turned around at the man, eyes beaming a smile of proud. Though he didn't say anything, the man understood every word of it. When the fireball dissolved into nothing behind Sasuke, the man's eyes land on Sasuke's redden cheek, which made him reached into the bag for something. At first, Sasuke didn't know what he was doing but had consider running away when he pulled them out.

"Wait! wait!" Sasuke protested, holding back the man's hands from touching his face, but the man eventually got two of the bandages on his cheek. "I can do it myself! This is so embarrassing…"

The man scoffed, "embarrassing you say."

Sasuke glared at the man for mocking him, "even you wouldn't like it if I—"

"Here," the man tossed him what was left in the bag, which Sasuke almost dropped trying to catch it. He noticed the man flinched at that, which was kind of funny considering it was just a tomato. Sasuke muttered a small thank you before taking a bite, but the question still bugging in his brain. How did he know?

"Why tomato?" Sasuke finally asked between bites of his favorite fruit. Coincident?

"Hn?" the man grabbed the second tomato and took a bite. "You like them don't you?"

Sasuke licked the running juice that accidentally leaked onto his arm from the previous bite, " but don't people usually buy apple, or orange?"

The man shrugged at his question, "guess I know more about you than you think."

"That's creepy."

"Stupid."

The only sound after that was the sound of Sasuke chewing until he finished what's left of the tomato and licked his hands clean, then wiped them on his shirt.

"Don't do that, that's dirty," the man commented as he cleaned his hand with a tissue from the plastic bag. He handed Sasuke some but he just threw them back in the bag again, ignoring what the man just said completely.

"You say you know me right?" Sasuke asked, his excitement kind of scared the man. One thing the man know for sure, that that devious smile on a child face could never be good. This he know more than Sasuke considering he has a child back home, and let's just say she is too cunning for her own good. "How about a game?"

"No."

"If you got it right, I'll do what you say," Sasuke once again completely ignored what the man had to say. "But if you got it wrong, then you'll do what I say."

'No' would be the answer the man wanted to go with but this had happen before with his daughter, and the man know there was no way out of it. Declining this will only make your life hell, especially when your wife has strength more than that of a thousand men combined. Beside, he really didn't want to gain attention from the Uchiha, whose compound is literally right next door. He was trying to stay in a low profile, so the man knew he got no choice but to say yes.

"Fin—"

"What's my favorite color?" Sasuke jumped in before he could finish. Everyone he asked this question before had got this question wrong simply because they though he would wear his favorite color everyday, but that's not true. He wouldn't wear a color like that everyday and watch it worn out, that kind of color he only wear for important moments.

The man clicked his tongue as his word was cut off, but the more he think about the question, the funnier he find it to be. His favorite color? That must be the easiest question out there. He knew he got the right answer, but he will still lose this game, because even Sasuke got the answer wrong.

"So?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

The man couldn't help but chuckled at what he about to say. If only Sasuke knew what the man knew, his answer wouldn't sound so crazy.

"It's pink." A small smile spread across his face. Sasuke only looked at the man like some lunatic.

"Noo! Wrooong," Sasuke stretched out the word. The man had been acting like he knew Sasuke all his life, but of all the color he could think off, the man had choose to answer with pink. Though he was curious to why the man think that color would be correct, he didn't ask. Maybe the man didn't know him as well as he though, or maybe he just answered with his favorite color, a lot of people had done that too. "Not even close, it's actually—"

"Black right?" the man cut Sasuke off before Sasuke could go talking in-depth about how wrong he was. Sasuke was too startled when the bullseye was hit right in the middle, the only thing he did was stare in awe at the man, who smirked at the sight.

Sasuke was the one to break the eyes contact first, and to be honest, he wasn't handling losing this game he suggested too well. Now he was curious about whoever this man was, and how managed to know Sasuke so well. Did he meet the man before? If he was still at the forest, the answer would definitely be 'no', but he was not so sure anymore.

"So,…I guess you win since you got it right the second time."

"The first time," the man corrected.

"What?"

"Stupid."

"You—?" Sasuke sighed, calming himself. It felt like he was talking to a kid smaller than him sometimes. How old was this man again?

"But since I got it wrong the second time—"

"First."

"Don't joke, stupid."

"No! You'r—"

The man ignored him and continued, "—i guess we both win."

"And lose." Sasuke added, confused at where the man was going with this.

"So each get one time telling another what to do," the man finished, looking down at Sasuke as he processed the information before nodding in agreement, "you first."

Sasuke looked up at the man, almost as if he was trying to find out what he wanted to do. What would be one thing he wanted the man to do? If this question was ask before, it would be not to kill him, but since then on, this man had fill him with curiosity that needed some release. But he doesn't like to be question right?

"Can I ask you a questions?" Sasuke timidly asked, being as nice as possible so maybe the man agree. He knew the man hated to be question, but Sasuke just needed to know.

The man looked down at him, studying his intention written on his face, "you already did, stupid."

"That's not what I meant you butt—!" Sasuke snapped, ranting on.

The man, however, had got used to Sasuke's mood swing, therefore unaffected by whatever insult he threw at him, if they were real insult at all. But it was quite annoying after a while, he really was running out of time wasting it on listening to whatever this was. So he laid a hand on Sasuke's head and started shaking it back and forth roughly. This anger kids, he knew, his daughter had prove his theory, but it did a good job cutting the kids off their previous thought, just enough time to lure their attention else where.

"What are you—?" Sasuke forcefully lifted the man's large hand off his head, finding three fingers being hold up in front of him.

"Three questions," the man explained. "I will answer any that I like."

Sasuke, like a switch, was off and on with his mood. At the sound of the man's proposal, he had quickly forgotten what happened before and focus on thinking of three, good questions that will somehow answer everything he wanted to know. That is just impossible considering how there are hundred and thousand of questions unanswered in his brain. The man just stood there patiently, studying Sasuke like a book. When Sasuke's head snapped up abruptly at him, the man knew he had finished by the look of determine on his face, "hn?"

"Ok! firsly! Who are you to Itachi? then why are you here in Konoha? and how come you know so much about the fireball jutsu?" Sasuke almost shouted out the question, counting them on his fingers as he went through all three.

The man had wanted to laugh, this was not a scene he sees everyday. But he kept that thought to himself because laughing right now will only get him an angry and embarrass Sasuke to deal with. He didn't even need to went through the questions one by one. He had though that Sasuke's questions would be harder to answer, but this he could do it in his sleep.

"Easy," the man held up three fingers like Sasuke just did and decrease the number one by one as he answered all three of them. "No, no, and yes."

"Stupid," was the first and only word that got out of Sasuke's mouth. He had consider calling the man 'mentally challnenge' but decided in the end that two words are not worth to describe him,

"Annoying," the man countered.

"That's not fair!" Sasuke raised his voice. "You didn't answer a single question I asked."

"Life's not fair." the man answer curtly, which pretty much anger Sasuke even more, but he decided to keep quiet. Where will the conversation go if they start to argue now? He will never get those answer to his question. So instead, he pouted, crossed his arm and started to walk away from the man. He hated this man, he hated the way he acted like he know everything, he hated the way the man enjoy being in control, he hated the way the man speak so curtly. This man must be some spoiled kid when he was young.

The man stood still, watching little Sasuke make his way off the dock. He enjoyed teasing Sasuke, but he didn't know why it was so important for him to know who he is. Why does it matter to him in any way? He was, after all, only some random man Sasuke meet just a while ago, why is it that he feel depended on?

Sasuke walked slowly away, without looking back, feeling disappointed once again that this man keep getting Sasuke's hope up just to trample on it like some joke he use to pass time. Even Sasuke didn't know why he was so determine to know the man's identity. Maybe it was because he felt close to him, he felt a connection somewhere when they interact. Maybe it was because he didn't want to forget someone like him. After times and times proven wrong, Sasuke had come to admired whoever this man was, he was almost just like Itachi. Sasuke really didn't know in what way. That man was idiotic, rude, and anything but gentle, unlike Itachi. But there was some resembling, Sasuke just couldn't make out what. As thoughts are running in his head as he kept walking, he could suddenly feel a pickling feeling on his back. What he felt was the sudden change in temperature. He knew the afternoon would be a bit warm, but this is just like he was standing next to the sun.

"…Like a giant ball of fire." Sasuke murmured unconsciously as realization hit him like a truck. He had never turned around so fast in his life. And what awaited him from behind he was the sight of a gigantic orb of a beautiful orange. The color was so alike he almost though the whole sky was made of fire, just waiting to crash straight down to the ground. And the heat was so overwhelming, Sasuke could have swear that he could see it riding the air like giant waves. Standing in front of him was the idiotic, rude, and anything but gentle man. His figure looked like it was eaten up by the fireball itself. His head was turning to look at Sasuke, a smirk on his face, almost as if it was challenging him to call the man idiotic again. Sasuke on the other hand was still too in awe to actually think of anything to say, but that was all the man need to know he had answer Sasuke's question.

When the the ball of fire finally melted into the sunset, the brightness from the fireball disappear like a switch was flicked off. Only then did Sasuke and the man realized that the sun had half way set. Sasuke had to blink and rubbed his with his hands several time for his eyes to adjust to the sudden absent of light. When he opened them again, there was a tall, black wall blocking him from the tiny amount of light the sun had left. Before he could look up to find out what it was, a hand grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him upward. At the sudden loss of balance, Sasuke yelped and flailed his arms and legs aimlessly around to find something to grip onto, and he found just that, what Sasuke realized, on the man's shoulder. He quickly wrapped his arms around it when the man's hand let go of his collar, feeling his weight being held up effortlessly by the man's large back. His head he dropped on the man's shoulder, feeling tickle as the man's spiky, black hair poked at his cheek and ear, but he kept it there and refused to move, it made him feel somewhat closer to him. When the man was sure that Sasuke was comfortable, he started walking away from the lake, and toward the direction of the Uchiha clan compound in quiet and calm steps. Sasuke, riding on the man's back, was silent the whole way, partly because his throat was still too dry to form proper words, partly because he couldn't find anything to say, but he was actually secretly grinning widely inside. This had remind him of the last time Itachi had piggy back him home, when he still had time away from his mission that is. He remembered feeling tiny and small compare to Itachi. He had feel loved, so much that it felt like he was being spoiled by him, almost like the way he was right now on the man's back. Unconsciously, tears stared to leak and trickle down his burning cheeks, stinging the burnt skin under the bandages. Instead of holding them back or wiping it off with his hands, Sasuke nuzzled his whole face into the nook of the man's neck, let his tears damped the man'd cloak.

The man flinched. "Don't do that," he said with his head slightly turned, but his bang prevented Sasuke from looking into his eyes.

Sasuke tighten his arms around the man's neck, muttering a small and cracked, "sorry," the only word he could think of. The man clicked his tongue in annoyance, but didn't say anything afterward. He knew these tears don't appear very often on Sasuke's face, but sometime, he knew Sasuke just needed to let it out. Unlike Sasuke's father, the man didn't think tears were a sign of weakness. Just because you cry often doesn't mean you can't be useful, just because you cry doesn't mean you can't summon a gigantic slug, just because you cry doesn't mean you can't beat up a ninja god, tears proved nothing of the sort, he learned all that from an annoying, yet amazing girl.

The way back to the compound was pretty short, but the sky had dyed a deep blue when they arrived. Sasuke was disappointed to say the least when the man stopped at one of the back gate to the compound. Sasuke guessed it was because he didn't like crowd place just like him so he didn't ask why they didn't enter through the main gate. The man squatted down in front of the gate but Sasuke had considered staying up there, until he collected enough will to mentally forcing himself to get off. The man didn't stand up immediately, instead, he stayed at Sasuke's eyes level as both stared at each other, no one made any movement through the gate. Sasuke really didn't want the man to leave, but he also didn't know what to say to do, all he know was that there are nothing he could say to make the man stayed.

The sight of Sasuke's gloomy face had hurt the man more than Sasuke had ever know, so much that the man couldn't help but pulled him into a tight hug. Sasuke was surprise at first, but then welcomed the warmth enveloping him, his own arms raised to hug the man. He really missed this.

"Will you come back again?" he asked quiet, but the man could hear the sadness in his weak voice. Sasuke was asking for the impossible here. Truth was, the man didn't want to leave either, but time was running out and there was nothing he could do. The man's hands held tightly onto Sasuke's shoulder when he broke the hug, his eyes look straight at him. Sasuke returned the stare softly, and was surprise to see a pool of mixed emotion all jumble up together into a messy, yet mysterious combination. He was more so surprised when he saw that the two emotions that outweigh all the others was pain and happiness. What a weird man.

"Just…" the man started, but with the loss of words, he had to begin again. "Remember to forgive, ok?"

A look of confusion appeared on Sasuke's face, "who?"

"Everything would change if I tell you who it is," the man chuckled slightly. "Just know that it happened for a reason and…" he stopped, licked his dry lips then continued. "….know that they love you." The man smiled, his hand reached up to poke Sasuke on his forehead, "ok?"

Sasuke covered the spot where his forehead was poke in surprise, but didn't ask. The man had amaze Sasuke time to time again at how much he understood him, and he had learned to accept it rather than to question it like he did before. Did Sasuke get what the man was saying? Of course not, but it still reassure him somehow. After all, adults rarely made any sense. and Sasuke tented to not look into their words very much. All they're looking for out of everything is a nod from him, telling them that he understood what they said even though he doesn't. Sometimes it was the adult that need those reassure gestures, and he did just that for the man. Sasuke nodded obediently at the man's weird words.

Knowing that Sasuke understood (or rather pretented to), the man ruffled his hair gently, which Sasuke had force him to stop by bringing his hand down from his head, he had got something he had to ask.

"I know you don't like questions but—," Sasuke said timidly. "—Can I at least know your name?"

"You already know it," the man answered curtly.

"No I didn—"

"There you are!" A high pitch voice called from above, making Sasuke look upward. "What took you so long?"

From a branch, a figure jumped down and landed right next to Sasuke, frightening him. He fell back in surprise and let out a surprise yelp, only to find two big, apple green eyes staring at him at an uncomfortably close distance. Sasuke only know to stare back as they blink once, then twice.

"Oh, my, GODD!" the figure squealed loudly before pulling Sasuke into a bear hug, rubbing her cheek against his. From the side, Sasuke could hear the man let out a sigh. "You are so CUTE!"

Sasuke, out of shock, confusion, and embarrassment, used all his might to get out of the lady's embrace. But no matter how hard he tried, his strength was just no match for the lady's. "Let go of me, lady! You're so annoying!"

The lady suddenly let go, roughly pulling him away to look at her straight in the eye, "annoying you say?" Then she raised up one hand, her index finger and thumb curled to form a circle, and flicked Sasuke right in the middle of his forehead. "You really are Sasuke, a jerk even when you were young."

"That's enough Sak—"

"Relax Sasuke-kun, it's not like I'm going to kill him or anything," the lady cut in, whining at how serious the man was,

Sasuke, decided to ignore the last part, asked, "Sasuke…-kun?"

"Eh? what's that?" the lady's attention turned to little Sasuke, then back to the man, "you mean you didn't tell him your name?"

"Hn." the man grunt in disapproval, but the lady ignored it.

"Okay then, let's start from the beginning." The lady picked Sasuke up in a quick motion, who tried and failed in protest against it. In the end, the only thing he could do was keep his burning cheeks in check. The lady cleared her throat, "big grumpy Sasuke," she waved toward the man. "Little to-be-a-jerk Sasuke," she motioned toward Sasuke. "At least you're still cute," she added.

"Hn."

"Aww, are you jealous of little Sasuke, Sasuke-kun?" the lady teased, carrying little Sasuke by his armpits and held out toward the unamused Sasuke. Little Sasuke had taken that opportunity to use his pleading eyes, which took effective immediately when Sasuke wasted no time releasing little Sasuke from the lady's hand and put him back on the ground. The lady only laughed as little Sasuke pouted and immediately retreated back behind his rescuer's leg. When the lady squatted down to his eye level, little Sasuke flinched, feeling like his safe zone had been invaded.

"Wha-what?" he stuttered out timidly, his cheeks was growing a faint red. He had never seen someone so pretty before, with the exception of his mother of course, and she made him feel all embarrass and awkward inside. He hated how he was unable to control his feeling, but he also blamed the lady for knowing where to hit to make it worse.

"I'm sorry little Sasuke, I bet you had a lot of fun with—" the lady stopped to giggle, "—big Sasuke-kun over here, but I have to take him now."

Sasuke swallowed, "take him? W-where?"

The lady's eyes light up for a moment like she just though of something, but then her face suddenly turned serious and grim, and she spoke in a low and spooked voice, "away from this world, his time has come."

Little Sasuke gasped and retreated back even further behind Sasuke's leg so that only his eyes and the top of his head was visible, "w-what are you?"

The lady let out a hideous laugh, "haven't you figure it out yet?" eyes staring straight at Little Sasuke, she whispered, "I'm your worst nightmare, the death god, the grim reap—Ouch!"

The lady covered her forehead where she was flicked, looking up at the one who just ruined her fun.

"Don't listen to her, Sasuke."

"It's little Sasuke, Sasuke-kun," the lady leered at Sasuke in disapproval, then turned her attention back to little Sasuke. She could tell he was confused and a bit weary by the way he gripped Sasuke's cloak. The sight had make her feel a bit guilty, maybe she had take it a bit too far.

"Come here little Sasuke," she spoke softly, one hand held out for little Sasuke to hold. He was on his way retreating back behind Sasuke when a hand was place on his small back. He looked up to find that it belonged to Sasuke, who eyes was telling him to trust the lady this once. Hesitantly, little Sasuke placed his tiny hand on the lady's and let her guided him out from behind Sasuke. When they were close enough, the lady cupped little Sasuke's cheeks and smiled softly at him. Little Sasuke was a bit freak out and the only thing he wanted right then was to get away from the lady, but he knew if he wasn't able to get out from her grasp earlier, there were no way he could right now.

"Relax," the lady said as little Sasuke felt the rise in her chakra flowing toward her hands on his cheeks. Little Sasuke was surprise, he really though that this lady was just an ordinary villagers, but turned out, she was a ninja. The way she hid her chakra so well and the way she channeled her chakra so organize without a tiny bit wandering off amazed him. When the hands on his cheeks started to glow a faint green, he could feel a cool sensation, like someone was putting a bag of ice against his face. Little Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling her chakra replacing the stinging feeling from the burn by his mouth with a soothing coolness. He though he had found an angel.

"Alright," the lady exclaimed with a smile when she finished healing him, then grabbed the bandage on his mouth and pulled it off roughly.

Little Sasuke fell back and cried out in surprise and confusion, holding his healed cheeks, "what are you doing?"

The lady just scoffed, clearly amused, "don't be a baby, they were peeling off anyway." Then before little Sasuke could continue with their argument, the lady picked him up in a swift motion. Little Sasuke, realized he was back inside the unescapable trap, started to kicked and punched his way out, only to be restraint by the lady's bear hug. "Listen here little Sasuke, I will put you down if you—"

"Let go of me!"

The lady, with both her hands keeping little Sasuke from moving, head-butt him, dazing him so he would stop moving about. "I will put you down," the lady tried again. "If you promise me something."

Little Sasuke, knowing that this was his only chance to escape, immediately turned his attention to the lady, "promise what?"

The lady continued when she knew little Sasuke had understand the situation he was in, "I want you to keep an eye on the girl with the bow."

He blinked once, then twice. His class had a lot of girls and almost all of them wear a bow or some kind of accessories that looked like one, he needed the lady to be more specific. "Which one?"

At his question, the lady laughed, "wait, let me rephrase it." She cleared her throat then continued, "keep an eye on the prettiest girl with the bow."

Just who was the lady talking about? Little Sasuke had no idea, but he knew this conversation was going nowhere, not while the lady still had that devious smile on her face anyway, so he decided to move on. "But why do I have to keep an eye on her?" he asked.

The lady was surprise at the question. There was a tiny piece of information which was crucial but the lady didn't seem willing to share. She clearly didn't think this one through, "why you ask?" she licked her dry lips. Her eyes wandered, trying to think of a good answer, and it fell on Sasuke unconsciously, almost like she was asking for help. "Well…, let's just say…"

"Because she is weak, clingy, and annoying." Sasuke spoke up after a long period of silent, but instead of looking at little Sasuke when he answered his question, Sasuke was staring at the lady. "Definitely very annoying."

With that said, it earned him a jokingly jab of the elbow from the lady, which seemed to little Sasuke hurt a lot more than the lady intended. But a girl that was weak, clingy, and annoying? Little Sasuke really didn't have time to take care of someone so troublesome, he needed to train to catch up to Itachi.

"Promise?" the lady asked, holding out her pinky.

Little Sasuke hesitated. If he could just get this over with and never fulfill the promise, he would, but a promise was not a thing to fool around with. Once he made a promise, he had to keep it, otherwise that would mean he broke his promise with Itachi, and he wouldn't want that to happen. Making up his mind, he raised his hand and hooked his pinky around the lady's, "promise." After all, how hard would it be just to keep an eye on someone?

"Alrighty then," the lady put little Sasuke down on the ground again and walked over to stand by Sasuke. "I guess it's about time we should be going."

Little Sasuke's eyes widened, he completely forgot that they were leaving, "wait! are you going to come back soon?"

The two grown ups looked at each other as the lady smiled and the man sulked. Then Sasuke turned his attention to him, "technically, we can'—"

"—can come back," the lady raised her voice to cut him off. "So you better keep your promise, right?"

The last word, to little Sasuke, seemed like it was meant more for the bigger Sasuke than him. "Are you sure?"

Sasuke didn't say a word when he was cut off, his only response to it was a sigh of defeat, but he agreed with the lady nonetheless, "just remember she's always right, Sasuke." The lady reached out her hand to hold Sasuke's at this. Her smiled was the most beautiful then.

"You mean little Sasuke, Sasuke-kun," she corrected, then turned toward little Sasuke. "We'll see each other soon, so don't worry ok?" she said as she reached forward with her other hand and ruffled little Sasuke's hair.

Even with his hair in the way, little Sasuke noticed the way Sasuke's hand suddenly tighten around the lady's when she said that sentence. Though he had no idea why, he somehow knew it was best not to ask. When the pressure from the lady's hand was gone, little Sasuke could feel someone gently poked him on his forehead.

"Hang in there, Little Sasuke," the man said before retreating back beside the lady. Both of them had a smile on their face, then with their hands held tight, they disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Dazed little Sasuke stood there, staring ahead where those two was standing just a second ago. The darken sky made it hard to see, but little Sasuke could still imagine them standing in front of him. He waited until it was completely dark before giggled his way through the gate and into the Uchiha clan compound. "Maybe that's why he likes pink."

* * *

So I got a question here, did little Sasuke felt OOC to you? Sorry if he does, but that's kind of how I imagine him to be. This is set before the massacre and all, so to me Sasuke still has his innocent and a bit sly, and sometime a bit spoiled. If you think Sasuke would act differently, I'm kind of curious about it so review and tell me about it okee? :)


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